In this little classic Herrigel takes us inside the workings of Zen Buddhism as he relates his
experiences in studying the art of archery in Japan. He chooses archery as a means to study zen upon
recommendation by a Japanese associate, a choice that would have else never occurred to him. To
the typical bowhunting fan the number of bullseyes and deer killed are the goal of archery and any
meditative aspects of the sport are secondary by-products and are rarely discussed. The Japanese man
who suggested archery to Herrigel as an introduction to zen, understood that archery, a silent sport,
would bypass the usual linear, analytical processes of the educated Westerner. And it did, as this
book demonstrates.

If Herrigel had written his book in the Western mode, it might have gone like this:

On a Western archery range, the four components of archery would be practiced one after the
other for many repetitions with accuracy counts of bullseyes charted week after week.

In the Japanese form of teaching archery, several months are devoted to each step, and only
when mastered is the succeeding step taught or permitted. Thus Herrigel spent 2 months learning to
hold and to draw the bow, then several months learning the hold the bow extended for a long time
with his shoulders relaxed, then more months learning to let the bowstring "slice through" his thumb
(release without flinching), and only after almost a year is he allowed to actually hit a target. His
teacher, however, is the measure of his shooting success, not the accuracy of the arrow hitting the
target. Even though the arrow may have only grazed the target, his teacher might say, "There! It
shot!" This praise from his teacher was the goal of the training, for it meant that Herrigel had hit that
most difficult target of all, himself.

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